The so-called “Vertical Forest” skyscraper in Milan is among the five finalists for the prestigious International Highrise Award 2014.
The recognition is given by the city of Frankfurt to honor “a structure that combines exemplary sustainability, external shape and internal spatial quality, not to mention social aspects, to create a model design.”
The Vertical Forest (Bosco Verticale in Italian) was designed by Boeri Studio and developed by Hines Italia in the Porta Nuova neighborhood of Milan. It was completed in June 2014 and comprises a pair of residential towers. They have a height of 119 meters and 87 meters and are home to 900 trees, large and small, as well as 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 floral plants (the equivalent of a hectare of forest), placed on all four sides of the towers. The idea is that the plants will help absorb dust in the air and therefore contribute to decrease pollution in the city.
The other finalists are De Rotterdam in Rotterdam, One Central Park in Sydney, the Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Sliced Porosity Block in Chengdu.
The winner will be announced on November 19 in Frankfurt.
